Some Kind of Father
by dear.lilan
Summary: 'You think you can just boss me around like you're some kind of father? I don't need anyone's help' Shiro's good intentions lead him to be overprotective over Keith after he gets hurt, and Keith thinks he's old enough to take care of himself. Involves platforms, shaving and heart-to-hearts.
1. Chapter 1

"So you've decided to grow a beard." Shiro teases, before having another spoonful of the green goo.

Keith clumsily pulls a chair with his left hand and sits down, carefully picking up a spoon. "Well, it's not like I have a choice for now." He shrugs and starts eating.

It was two days ago, in a simple training exercise. Instead of the actual robots in the training deck, Allura had them using another room with high ceilings and platforms. Incredibly high platforms that moved around. Keith and Lance were sparring on one of the biggest. The red paladin had the advantage, but with a swift movement from the platform, Keith lost balance and fell the six meters straight to the ground.

The pain was immediate and sharp, his right wrist having taken all the impact first. Shiro quickly left the platform he was training in with Hunk and climbed down as quickly as he could, rushing to Keith's side. Lance had climbed down too, panicked at seeing his team mate falling like that, and Hunk soon did the same as soon as he realized something wasn't right.

Keith was curled up on the floor, cradling his right arm against his chest, his breath fast and shallow, eyes tightly shut as he tried not to cry out in pain. Shiro kneeled next to him, placing a hand on his knee.

"Your arm. Let me see." He demanded. Very hesitantly, Keith let Shiro hold his wrist and observe it, wincing as the slightest touch made him see black spots.

Shiro frowned. The limb was bent at an unnatural angle, and there was a big bump near the wrist joint. "Come on. Let's get you to a cryopod."

"Uh, I don't think so, Shiro, "Hunk said, "after that last time when the castle went bonkers, Pidge and I had to fix the food goo dispenser, and we haven't had time to fix the medical pods yet." His face was heavy with guilt. He couldn't help but feel bad for not fixing the cryopods when Keith really needed one. "Th infirmary is fully functional, though."

With Coran's help, they were able to scan Keith's arm in a similar fashion to an x-ray, and concluded that he had a nasty break on his arm, and his wrist was fractured as well. Shiro had to set the bone, and after that, Keith's right arm was put on a splinter and heavily bandaged, bound in a sling strapped tightly to his chest.

Keith mostly spent the rest of the day in bed, still too nauseous and sore to do anything. His arm was hurting a lot in the evening so he decided to go for an early night and tried to get some sleep.

Unfortunately, Keith was right handed, and soon learnt that his other hand was useless for anything that required a minimum of dexterity. So yesterday morning, when he got up to brush his teeth before breakfast, which he more or less managed with his left hand, he realized shaving was out of question. Not only he needed a steady hand to do it, but his right hand also hurt too badly to even move, so his initial idea of quickly shaving with his dominant hand and ignoring the pain was also not an option.

And while Keith can't exactly grow a full beard yet, he has enough scruff to notice if he doesn't shave every other day. So, at least for the time being, he will let his stubble grow until he's able to use his right arm again.

"How's the arm, by the way?" Shiro asks, clearly concerned.

Keith looks down at the white sling his arm is in and shrugs. "It's okay. A bit sore." He says, not wanting to worry anyone. If he was to be honest, he'd say it hurt like hell. But in the last two days, Keith had had enough of people worrying about him, and he just wants people to forget he's injured.

"You know, I could help you shave if you'd like." Lance declares from the other side of the table.

"Uh, after seeing you piloting skills, I don't think I should let you any near my face with a razor," Keith replies, "I'm injured enough as it is."

Lance looks outraged. "What does piloting even have to do with shaving?"

"Actually," Pidge chimes in, "Lance is pretty decent when it comes to beauty and skin care."

"True," Hunk adds, "I've seen him, shave, and he has an incredibly steady hand. Never saw him with razor cuts or anything either."

"I shave like a pro," Lance smirks, "it would only be your pleasure to have me shaving your face."

"I think I'll pass," Keith refuses, "it's only for a few days anyway, I'll probably be able to do it tomorrow or so when I can get this stupid sling off."

Shiro looks up from his plate, frowning. "Keith, you do know you need to wear the sling for at least a couple of weeks. Or until when the cryopods are fixed." He says with a stern tone. "That arm is not about to be up and moving at all for a while. So, I'd accept Lance's offer if I were you."

"Weeks?!" Keith exclaims, clearly not pleased. He was planning to get rid of the sling later today, or tomorrow if his arm still hurt a lot, but he definitely doesn't want to wear it for any longer than that. The stupid thing is so uncomfortable and annoying, making his neck hurt and itch, and just makes him feel so useless and restrained. "Isn't that a little extreme?"

Shiro shakes his head. "It was an awful break. We don't want to take any chances of your arm taking longer to heal, or even heal wrong."

Keith groans, obviously upset. "But it feels a lot better now!" He complains. "I mean, it's my arm, I'm able to tell if it hurts or if something isn't right! I don't even need the stupid sling!"

"That arm needs to be elevated and immobilized for a while to heal properly! We're a team, and we can't take any chances like this, especially with your dominant arm!" Shiro's voice gets a bit louder, and Hunk, Pidge and Lance exchange scared glances. They really hope the two of them don't start fighting. "The sling is staying, and that's final." Shiro gets up and leaves for the training room, leaving Keith to sulk in anger.

"My offer still stands, Mullet." Lance suggests, with a cocky grin. Hunk and Pidge leave, following Shiro.

Keith sighs. "Let's get this over with then."

Keith is sitting on a chair in front of the sink, in Lance's bathroom, staring in confusion at his team mate's arsenal of skincare products.

"Do you actually use all of this?" Keith asks, his good hand motioning for the products in front of him.

"Of course!" Lance replies, waving a hand in front of his face, "How do you think I maintain this beautiful skin?"

Keith rolls his eyes. "So, what now?"

Lance grabs a towel and wraps it around Keith's shoulders, and places the razor on the sink closer to him, before covering the skin on Keith's lower jaw and upper lip with a coat of some sort of shaving cream. Taking Keith's chin in one hand and the razor on the other, he gently runs it through the skin.

Keith squints at the mirror, slightly impressed. "Huh, you actually seem to know what you're doing," he says, trying not to move his face too much.

"I told you so." Lance continues, almost finished on the left side. "You know, it kinda hurts that you doubt my skills so much." Lance doesn't say it in a serious tone, but Keith can understand that the way he underestimated him actually stung a little.

As Lance moves to the right side, his hip accidentally bumps Keith's elbow, sending sharp shooting pain down his arm. Keith tries his best not to cry out.

"Shit, I'm so sorry!" Lance quickly puts down the razor and kneels beside his friend. "Are you okay?"

Keith closes his eyes tightly, as his left arm hold the other under the sling. The sudden pain dies down gradually, but now his whole arm is throbbing. "It's okay, I'm fine," he lies. Lance doesn't really believe it, but picks up the razor again, and starts working on the right side of Keith's face.

"You know, Shiro is kinda right about the sling."

Keith groans, irritated. "No, he's not. I'm an adult, I can take care of my own body."

"You're seventeen, technically not an adult yet," lance replies, "and Shiro showed me the scan. That break you have…it's pretty nasty."

"I'm fine!" Keith snaps in frustration. "It's just a broken arm! It doesn't even hurt that much anymore!"

"Yeah, bullshit," Lance rolls his eyes, "I can see you wince every time you move." Keith opens his mouth to protest, but Lance walks in front of him and holds his face upwards, ready to shave Keith's upper lip. "Alright, no talking now, I have to concentrate and this part is harder."

Lance is done in just a couple of minutes. He wipes the remains of shaving cream off of Keith's face, gently dabbing it with a damp towel, and puts down the razor.

Keith starts taking the towel off his shoulders, and is about to get up when Lance stops him. "Hey, where do you think you're going?" He asks, looking slightly offended. "I'm not done yet!"

Keith doesn't move. "What do you mean you're not done yet? You're not shaving my head too!" He protectively reaches for the longer strands in the back with his left hand.

Lance seems to consider it. "Well, a haircut wouldn't do you any harm-"

"You touch my hair, I'll smash your face in. "

Lance chuckles, "Relax, princess, I'm only going to use some after shave," he reaches for the bottle, "your skin is already dry enough, you'll get razor burn if I just leave it like that."

Keith gets up. "No, thank you." He one handedly throws the towel to the chair he had been sitting on, and walks towards the door. "I'll leave the fancy beauty routine for you."

With a quick sprint, Lance is able to stand between Keith and the door, his hand leaning against the doorframe. One of his eyebrows is raised in defiance. "My salon, my rules."

"My face, my rules," Keith says, "now get out of my way."

"Dude," Lance laughs, "you have a broken arm."

Keith shrugs. "So?"

"So, I think your choices are rather limited." Lance nods forward. "Come on, back to the chair."

"If you think for a moment that I can't take you down with a broken arm, think again, Lance."

Lance puts his hands up in defeat. "Alright, alright, no after shave. Gee, no wonder why you have zero ladies after you…"

"Yeah right," Keith scoffs, "see you later."


	2. Chapter 2

Keith makes his way back to his room and sits down on the bed, taking off his boots and skinny jeans, and sliding under the blankets.

His arm had started to hurt even more after Lance had bumped it, and he just wants to try and get some sleep, wishing for some painless hours.

Keith has broken bones before – his left wrist, in his first year at the Garrison, three ribs after a fight with a senior who was bullying him, a leg, right before he was expelled – but he doesn't remember any of those times hurting this bad. It has been two days and he hasn't had a decent night of sleep since then. And as much as Shiro insists that wearing the sling is necessary for the bone to heal fast, it really doesn't feel like it.

He shifts in the mattress, trying to find a comfortable position. With a groan, he sits up, frees his broken arm and throws the sling against the wall, lying back down again.

It works – he doesn't feel so uncomfortable or restricted anymore, and he's finally able to lay on his side, his usual sleeping position. He is snoring in a matter of minutes.

"It's hurting more, isn't it?'" Shiro stands behind the sofa in front of Keith, his tone cold and accusatory.

When Keith had shown up for lunch without the sling, Shiro had decided not to bother him about it. He knew bringing up the issue would just make Keith irritable again, and he would rather not raise tensions again. And if he was to be honest, Keith did look more comfortable with his arm free.

Keith was very much relieved when Shiro didn't say anything. He had been afraid of another fight, which was pretty much the last thing he wanted at the moment.

Waking up from his nap before lunch, his arm felt a lot better – apparently getting it free from the sling had relieved some tension, and his shoulder and back didn't ache as much anymore. When Shiro didn't say anything, Keith wanted to believe that Shiro was just being over protective, but finally realized Keith was able to take care of himself.

Because, all of those times Keith had broken a bone, he had been looked after – twice by Shiro. And while he trusted him enough in what concerned medical issues, Keith was pretty sure Shiro had exaggerated this time.

However, in the afternoon, the pain came back gradually, only a dull ache at first, but quickly escalating to the throbbing pain he had felt earlier, and after dinner it was only worse. Worse to the point that everyone could see Keith wasn't okay, especially Shiro, who was already keeping a close eye on him.

Keith was about to go to bed when Lance stopped him, asking why he wouldn't stay in the lounge with the rest of them. And Keith, not wanting to raise any more suspicions, had accepted.

It didn't take long for him to start shifting in his seat, with a frown on his face, as he tried to cope with the pain, and it didn't take much longer for everyone to realize he was even quieter than normal and didn't look too good.

"It's fine," he tells Shiro, trying to look relaxed, but unable to hide the annoyance in his voice.

"Doesn't look like it."

Shiro wasn't usually like this. Keith remembers well. Coming back home, from the Garrison's infirmary with a broken wrist, when he was fifteen. He missed classes the next day, and Shiro stayed with him. It was different at the time, perhaps because Shiro didn't trust himself as much to deal with medical things. "Alright," he had said with reluctance, when Keith refused the painkillers, arguing they made him dizzy and nauseous, "but if the pain gets too bad, you're taking them."

This time is different though. Keith isn't fifteen anymore, and can take care of himself just fine. Shiro isn't twenty-one anymore, and has gone through things that made him become much more of a leader. These two things, however, were highly conflicting. Because now Keith is angry at Shiro's excessive protection (as well at the fact Shiro was right), and Shiro is too worried to be nice about this.

Keith balls his good fist, trying to remain calm.

"Would you stop it, Shiro?"

"Stop what?" Shiro's voice gets louder, and Keith visibly flinches. "Stop doing what I think it's best for you?! For the team?! Stop caring?!"

The other paladins exchange worried glances, worried about a very possible, actual fight. Keith may have a hot temper, but Shiro definitely looks scary when he's angry.

"I know what's best for me! I'm almost eighteen!" Keith gets up, and raises his voice as well. "You think you can just boss me around like you're some kind of father?! I don't need anyone's help, and I certainly don't need you!"

The others watch as Keith turns on his heels and leaves. They also see Shiro's eyes, heavy with sadness, as he too slowly gets up to leave.


	3. Chapter 3

"You know he didn't mean what he said."

Shiro looks behind his shoulder to see Pidge standing by the door of his bedroom. He sighs and rests his head in his hands.

"He never yelled at me like that before." His voice comes out hoarse, and Pidge winces at how hurt he sounds. She takes a few steps and sits next to him on the bed.

"Look- I don't know Keith as well as you do," she starts, "I know he's got a hot temper, at least. But he loves you like a brother Shiro." Shiro's head lifts up and he finally looks like he's really listening. "I don't know what kind of past you had with him, but whatever it is, it's something he really values. He probably regrets saying those things now. I really think he didn't mean it."

Shiros head drops again, and his eyes look glassy once again. "But maybe he's right." Pidge suddenly looks confused. "He's not a kid anymore. He lived alone in a cabin in a desert for a whole year. He knows how to take care of himself and I can't just go back in time to when it was the two if us taking care of each other. I can't go back to be there for him when I wasn't."

"How can you say that?!" Pidge exclaims, and Shiro is startled by her sudden angry tone.  
"You saw the same Keith I did, didn't you!? He didn't follow your advice and it went wrong!" She takes a deep breath before continuing. "Yeah, maybe he does know how to take care of himself mostly. But he still needs you, Shiro. Even if he doesn't realize it yet."

She turns away to leave, and hears a soft "thanks, Pidge".

"Can I come in?"

Keith rolls in his bed, groaning. His arm in back in the sling, an attempt to lessen the pain, and it's working, but a lot slower than he would like. He hesitantly lets Shiro in.

Shiro makes his way to the bed and sits down next to Keith's legs. He looks worried, and a little sad.

"Are you feeling any better? How's your arm?"

Keith shrugs, "Not too bad."

Shiro nods sincerely. "Good."

"I...I'm sorry."

The apology comes as a surprise for Shiro, and he watches as Keith shortens the distance between them, taking a seat on the bed next to him.

"I know you were only trying to make sure I was okay. That I would be okay. So I'm sorry." It seems to be hard for Keith to admit he was wrong. He's looking down, his face a little red and his hands balked in fists resting on his lap.

"You're like a brother to me, you know that?" Shiro chuckles. "Sorry if I was controlling and annoying. I just worry about you. Sometimes I forget you're already seventeen... You, and Lance, and Hunk and Pidge... I'll always be looking out for you. I feel responsible for you guys. I just want the best for all of you."

Keith reaches forward with his good arm and leans against Shiro, an attempt to a one armed hug. Shiro pulls him closer and wraps his arms around him.

Pidge, Hunk and Lance smile, faces peeking behind Keith's bedroom door. They know their little family can get over anything.


End file.
